983 Coffee and Squirrel's Coffee

The coffee fruit is red and full, which contains the good flavor of coffee beans.

On the day of the courtyard, Xiao Yuanshui came to the entrance of the coffee field, and the vibration of closing the car door caused a series of panic among the trees, from near to far. Then hundreds of brown-gray fur balls sprang out and flew into the surrounding trees. "It's a squirrel! "We must hurry up and harvest it," he thought.

This sloping area surrounded by mountains is in Chuohsi Township, Hualien County, adjacent to Taitung County. From Cheuk Fu Highway to the south, pass Hsueh Tien Village and turn into Industrial Road. Go along the upper bank of Hsiu Ku Luan River. There is no entrance. If you are not careful, you will miss it. There are 4200 coffee trees hidden here, producing more than 4,000 pounds of coffee a year, and they have been certified organic for seven consecutive years!

Xiao Yuanshui is the first organic coffee grower in Hualien County. His father came from a wealthy family and had a resounding nickname in Fuli Rural Township: "Yuanwai." Fifty years ago, this hillside was reclaimed. Xiao Yuanshui recalled that it was deserted and there were no paths in and out. He had to come to help after class and on holidays, mowing trees and digging up stones one by one with his bare hands. Later, this slope was planted with oranges, betel nuts and afforestation.

In 1993, Xiao Yuanshui planned to grow coffee. The first 1000 coffee seedlings were planted in the flat good field, and the remaining 100 were planted by the father among the trees on the slope. Xiao Yuanshui said, At that time did not understand, Rice planting land unfavorable coffee growth, Wait for three years saplings weak; Father planted 100 plants but fruitful. The growing conditions of mature coffee trees were felt and later expanded to more than 4000 plants on hillside land.

In 1996, Xiao Yuanshui decided to switch to organic coffee. His father watered and weeded every day, tended every young tree, and was dubious about organic farming. Once I saw insects on trees and took out household mosquito water to spray, thinking, this should not matter? The results were actually detected. His father was determined to maintain the organic environment of the coffee garden with Xiao Yuanshui. In 1999, it was certified as a precious Taiwanese organic coffee.

Hsiao Yuan-shui says that after the conversion to organic farming, yields have dropped, and after harvesting and processing, the average tree yields less than one pound a year. But the animals and insects that disappeared have returned, such as civet cats, squirrels, butterflies, dragonflies, etc., and the ecology has become increasingly rich. Recently, Taiwan blue magpie has been seen!

There used to be about a hundred coffee trees infected, seriously or even dying every year. After the organic transformation, the proportion of disease decreased year by year. In 105 years and this year, no tree in the garden was sick, which made Xiao Yuanshui believe that organic planting restored natural balance symbiosis. He said that the trees are healthy and the coffee is good.

Because of the good soil and organic germplasm, the sweetness of coffee fruit after red ripening is as high as 14, almost the sweetness of mango. In order for coffee to have a good flavor, it must be fully ripe before harvest, and accompany Xiao Yuanshui to wait for the coffee fruit to turn red, it is full of squirrels. When the fruit is red, it is a big meal for squirrels; every time it comes to this time, we must hurry to hire workers and compete with squirrels to grab the harvest. I asked, with so many squirrels, is there a big loss? He said,"This is a beautiful place.」

Standing in the coffee garden, watching the clusters of fruits turn red, Xiao Yuanshui especially missed his father, who used his hands to weed and irrigate trees one by one to cultivate this healthy coffee garden. This year, he revised the packaging name and design, adding his father's nickname and Fuli postcode to become "983 Xiao Yuanwai Coffee" with both nostalgia and land feelings.